A steering hand wheel for a motor vehicle typically includes a rigid frame commonly referred to as an insert and a urethane foam cover over the insert which enhances the operator's comfort and the appearance of the hand wheel. The insert usually includes a ring-shaped rim where an operator grasps the hand wheel, an inner bracket, and a plurality of spokes between the rim and the inner bracket. In the past, such steering hand wheel inserts have been made as solid magnesium die castings. Molded solid plastic steering hand wheels have also been made in the past for small, off-highway motor vehicles such as lawn and garden tractors. In addition, blow molded plastic steering hand wheels have been made for toy vehicles. None of such solid plastic or blow molded plastic steering hand wheels are suitable for on-highway motor vehicles. It has, however, been proposed to manufacture a plastic steering hand wheel for an on-highway motor vehicle by making a preform out of injection molded polypropylene and press stretching the preform after the latter is heated to a temperature of about 165.degree. C. A method according to this invention of making a steering hand wheel suitable for an on-highway motor vehicle is a novel alternative to the methods described above.